Walmart and Costco Start 2026 Strong Amid E-Commerce Growth
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1 day ago
0mins
Should l Buy AMZN?
Source: Fool
- E-Commerce Sales Surge: Walmart's U.S. e-commerce sales rose 27% last quarter, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of over 20% growth, indicating strong performance in the e-commerce sector despite a challenging overall market environment.
- Market Share Competition: Despite strong e-commerce results, both Walmart and Costco have failed to capture additional market share from Amazon, whose e-commerce market share increased from 34.4% in 2024 to 35.7% in 2025, underscoring its continued dominance.
- Financial Performance Comparison: Walmart and Costco reported overall revenue growth of 5.6% and 7.4%, respectively, which lags behind Amazon's 10% growth in the fourth quarter, reflecting slower growth rates in their retail operations compared to Amazon.
- Investor Sentiment Impact: Although Amazon's cloud computing business faces uncertainties with management planning to invest over $200 billion in AWS expansion in 2026, its stock remains undervalued, suggesting long-term investors may find attractive buying opportunities in both retail and cloud computing sectors.
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Analyst Views on AMZN
Wall Street analysts forecast AMZN stock price to rise
44 Analyst Rating
41 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 207.540
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
Current: 207.540
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
About AMZN
Amazon.com, Inc. provides a range of products and services to customers. The products offered through its stores include merchandise and content it has purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers. The Company’s segments include North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It serves consumers through its online and physical stores and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. Customers access its offerings through its websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically visiting its stores. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero, and develops and produces media content. It serves developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through AWS, which offers a set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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See More
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- High Inflation Pressure: With inflation exceeding 3% in January, combined with low growth, market fears of stagflation are rising, which could negatively impact consumer spending and business investment decisions, further dragging down economic recovery.
- Surging Oil Prices Impact: As of the recording date, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices have reached $93 per barrel, a significant increase from $57 on January 2, which may force consumers to cut back on other expenditures due to rising energy costs, affecting overall economic activity.
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